The skier with the lowest aggregate time at the end of each day wears the gold bib, representing the leader of the overall standings. There are one other bib as well: the silver bib, worn by the leader of the point standings.
Justyna Kowalczyk has won the most Tours with four. She is the only skier to win four consecutive Tours. Charlotte Kalla is the youngest winner of the women's Tour; she won in 2007–08, 20 years and 168 days old. Marit Bjørgen is the oldest winner, having been 34 years, 295 days old when she won the 2015 edition.
Norwegian skiers have won the most Tours with seven; Four Norwegian female skiers have won. The most recent winner is Jessie Diggins, who won her second title of the Tour de Ski in 2023–24 edition.
History
The Tour de Ski was established in 2006 by FIS, after ideas emerging on a meeting between former Olympic gold medallist Vegard Ulvang and Jürg Capol, the International Ski Federation's (FIS) chief executive officer for cross-country competitions, in Ulvang's sauna in Maridalen, Norway.[1][2] Their idea was to create a stage competition consisting of different events which they expected would lead to several days of continuous excitement before the most complete skiers would become Tour de Ski champions.[1]Jürg Capol stated that FIS originally wished to start the race in the Alps. However, as neither Austria or Switzerland were interested, the opening two stages were to be held in Nové Město na Moravě in the Czech Republic.[3] A week before the Tour was due to start, FIS announced that snow conditions in Nové Město were not good enough, and cancelled the two races there. The first Tour de Ski therefore opened with a sprint race in Munich on 31 December 2006, and was won by Marit Bjørgen (NOR).
Skiers from France,[4] Germany[5] and Norway, among others, said that the Tour de Ski was among their targets for the 2006–07 season, with Norwegian skier Jens Arne Svartedal claiming that the winner would have "extreme respect" for winning such an extreme race.[6]Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) was the first women's overall winners of the Tour. Kuitunen won two of the six stages on her path to victory.
After the first Tour de Ski, reactions among athletes were largely positive. Norwegian athletes said "it was a good concept",[7] German winner Tobias Angerer claimed that the Tour de Ski "has a great future",[8]Oberstdorf in Bavaria was originally scheduled to host two stages, but cancelled as the German Ski Association could only arrange a race on 2 January.[9] though many of the athletes expressed concern over the final climb up an alpine skiing hill both before and after the race.[10] The director of FIS' cross-country committee, Vegard Ulvang, said the finish would be in the same place next year, but the way up could be changed.[10] Ulvang also claimed that the Tour had been a success, and a "breakthrough for FIS"[11] Ulvang did, however, admit that there would have to be some changes, as up to a third of participants in the Tour de Ski have struggled with illness or injury after the competition.[12]
Newspaper comments were divided: in Expressen's opinion, the finish was the "most enjoyable competition seen in years,"[13] while Roland Wiedemann in Der Spiegel said this "should be the future of cross-country skiing".[14] Critical commentaries appeared in Göteborgs-Posten, criticising the fact that sprinters didn't have a chance in the overall standings,[15] and Wiesbaden Kurier, describing it as a reality show and a skiing circus.[16]
In her first Tour in 2007–08, Charlotte Kalla became the second winner of the women's Tour de Ski, the first from Sweden. She also became the youngest winner of the Tour, aged 20 years, 168 days. Kuitunen became the first to win two Tours after winning the 2008–09 Tour de Ski. At a meeting in Venice, Italy, on 7 May 2009, Tour de Ski officials met with officials from the Giro d'Italiaroad cycle race to learn from the stage race to further improve Tour de Ski competition for the 2009–10 event.
In the early 2010s, the women's Tour was dominated by Justyna Kowalczyk, who won four consecutive Tours from 2009–10 to 2012–13. She also won three consecutive sprint competitions from 2010–11 to 2012–13. Kowalczyk's wins in 2009–10 and 2010–11 made her the first to defend a Tour de Ski title. Kowalczyk became the first skier to lead the Tour from the first stage and all the way to the finish when she won the 2010–11 Tour. Therese Johaug was the first Norwegian to win the Tour de Ski in 2013–14. By winning the 2015 Tour, Marit Bjørgen became the oldest winner aged 34 years and 295 days. Bjørgen was the second skier to lead the overall standings after every stage of the Tour. Johaug won her second Tour in 2016. Heidi Weng won the 2016–17 and 2017–18 Tours and became the second women to defend a Tour de Ski title. In 2017–18, Jessie Diggins of USA became the first non-European to achieve a podium spot in the overall standings. In 2018–19Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won last four consecutive stages and became the fourth Norwegian female winner of the tournament. Diggins became the first non-European winner in 2021.
Winners
Key
†
Winner won the Sprint standings in the same year
The "Year" column refers to the years the competition was held, and wikilinks to the article about that season.
The "Distance" column refers to the distance over which the race was held, excluding sprint heats.
The "Margin" column refers to the margin of time or points by which the winner defeated the runner-up.
The "Stage wins" column refers to the number of stage wins the winner had during the race.
